Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 133: A Fairy Tale of Memphis

With the playoffs about to begin, Stan certainly won't miss such an opportunity.

He published a playoff prediction before the season started.

Now that he is very popular, this prediction quickly spread.

Generally speaking, the teams in the upper half are more likely to beat the teams in the lower half, mainly depending on the predictions of upsets.

Stan predicts a set of "underdog" matchups in the East and West, and both of them are from the fourth and fifth seedings.

He predicted the Hawks would eliminate the Magic and the Grizzlies would eliminate the Thunder.

He also attached his own analysis after these two sets of predictions.

Coincidentally, he predicted that the key factors for these two upsets were the inside line.

He believes that the Magic have lost Lewis and Gortat this season, and their depth in the interior will be a big problem.

Howard is still strong, but he can't play a full 48 minutes, and when he is off the court, the Magic can only rely on the 2-foot-06 Bass to play center.

On the other hand, the Hawks have the starting combination of Horford and Josh Smith, with Pachulia and Jason Collins on the bench, and they have a clear advantage in the interior.

He also believes that the Thunder's inside line cannot stop Gasol and Randolph from playing well.

Although Ibaka has excellent help defense ability, he cannot stop either Gasol or Randolph in the low post.

As for Perkins, his explosiveness has obviously declined after he tore the anterior cruciate ligament and posterior cruciate ligament of his right knee.

Stan's prediction was met with ridicule from fans.

You have to know that the Magic and Thunder are both teams with high traffic because they have Howard and Durant. If you predict that they will be eliminated in the first round, then you will definitely not have an easy time.

"Why do you think Howard can't play the full 48 minutes? He's Superman!"

"The management traded back Turkoglu, and our car has a driver again. Our goal is not the first round, but the championship!"

"The Eagles are a standard regular season team that has never won a playoff game. We will settle the battle in six games."

"The Grizzlies lost Rudy Gay, you mean they can beat the Thunder with Durant, Westbrook, Harden and Ibaka with one Gay?"

"Russell is the one who is really underestimated. He is the most improved player this season. He is better than Han, and we also have KD. You tell me how to lose?"

"Perkins has always been underestimated. He is the last piece of the Thunder's championship puzzle, Scarlett's bath water (referring to the championship), why not?"

……

On April 4, the playoffs officially kicked off.

On the first day, the first and eighth, fourth and fifth series of the Eastern and Western Divisions started first.

Then, upsets occurred in the first two games played in the Eastern Conference.

霍华德出场46分钟，22罚14中，爆砍46分19板8失误，魔术队93比103输掉比赛。

Nelson also scored 27 points, but no one else on the Magic scored in double digits.

On the other hand, five players of the Hawks scored in double figures, with starter Johnson scoring 25 points and substitute Jamal Crawford scoring 26 points.

Shortly after the game between the Magic and the Hawks ended, the game between the Thunder and the Grizzlies kicked off in Oklahoma.

Because Stan had already predicted one correctly, this game became a hot topic.

The huge Ford Center was packed with people, and slogans of support could be seen everywhere. Some people in the crowd even held up signs that read "We want Scarlett's bath water."

The Thunder was renamed from the SuperSonics, and even including this season, they have only been in Oklahoma City for three seasons.

The team lay dormant in the first year, made the playoffs with 50 wins in the second year, and became number one in the Northwest Division in the third year. The future of this team was bright, and the enthusiasm of the fans was naturally unprecedentedly high.

During the pre-match warm-up, Hansen was cheering Allen on.

When playing against the Heat before, although Allen contributed steals against Wade, the overall effect was not good, which also made people from the outside world wonder why Battier should not start.

But in fact, defensive ability and defensive effect are not completely equivalent. Just as every player has his own offensive characteristics, the same is true for defense.

For example, if you ask Hansen to defend high-speed guards like Wall or Westbrook, his effect will definitely not be as good as Allen's.

Hansen happened to be a time traveler, and he knew that Allen became famous by defending Durant.

"You've done it once, just do those things again."

Hansen is talking about the regular season here. Although Allen only got a chance in the second half of the third quarter of that game, he played a decisive role in defending Durant.

Allen nodded, but he still looked a little nervous.

He was not given much use overall when he was on the Celtics, and he sat on the bench most of the time in the playoffs.

Now he not only has to start in the playoffs, but also has to defend a superstar like Durant from the start. Even if he is confident enough, it is impossible for him to say that he doesn't feel some pressure.

"Don't be stressed, I'll cover you." Han Sen said and patted Allen on the shoulder again. Don't forget that he is also good at defending Durant.

"If you're not needed, I'm here." Battier was also nearby at this time. Hearing their conversation, he came over and interrupted with a smile.

Well, the Grizzlies have three players who can compete with Durant. Even if Durant is in great form, he will still be killed by the wheels.

After the warm-up, the scene entered the opening ceremony and Oklahoma City fans continued to show their enthusiasm.

It sounds a bit unbelievable, but the "Big Four" of the Thunder are still all on rookie contracts. It's hard for such a talented team not to become a traffic team.

After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups of both teams were announced:

Grizzlies: Conley, Tony Allen, Hansen, Randolph, Gasol

Thunder: Westbrook, Sefolosha, Durant, Ibaka, Perkins
Gasol Jr. jumped to win the ball for the Grizzlies, and the much-anticipated first-round G1 officially kicked off.

The Grizzlies' playing style has changed a bit compared to the beginning of the season. Although Randolph is still playing one-on-one in the low post, the person feeding the ball has changed from Hansen back to Conley.

The main purpose of this adjustment is to allow Han Sen to launch tactics on the weak side to contain the opponent.

As Hansen and Gasol were running, they quickly discovered that the Thunder were focusing their defense on them.

When Hansen was still with the Cavaliers last season, Brooks' performance impressed Hansen.

Brooks actually ended up being the league's best coach last season, even though he's only 44 years old.

However, there were only five people on the basketball court, and Brooks focused on defending Hansen, so Randolph had a chance in the low post.

Randolph turned around and made a layup at the free throw line, crushing Perkins and scoring the goal.

Randolph scored the first goal for the Grizzlies. Looking back, Durant received the ball and shot singles after positioning himself in the high post.

There is a reason why Stan predicts upsets in both the Thunder and Grizzlies and the Magic and Hawks, because these two series are essentially teams vs. superstars.

Stan is clearly the guy who believes the team is bigger than the star.

The Thunder fans began to boo.

Although Allen had a good performance against Durant in the regular season, that was just the tip of the iceberg in the long regular season and not many people would pay attention to it.

On the contrary, Allen is a head shorter than Durant at this time, so this matchup is too easy for Durant.

After receiving the ball, Durant changed his back to the basket to face the basket, then suddenly jumped up and shot from mid-range.

But just as he kicked the ball, Allen slapped the ball in his hand.

Although the ball was not cut off, Durant's shooting rhythm was obviously disrupted, and the ball finally hit the basket and bounced out.

Randolph protected the defensive rebound and the Thunder's first attack at the beginning of the game was unsuccessful.

The Grizzlies did not launch a defensive counterattack. Hollins' pre-game strategy was the same as before, which was to grind out the position.

The ball continued to be passed to Randolph. This time Randolph turned to the baseline and shot off the backboard, but it went wide. Perkins' lower body was still very stable.

However, Randolph grabbed the offensive rebound over Perkins' head and scored on a second shot.

Theoretically speaking, Perkins' low-post defense is among the best in the league, which should be the reason why Brooks dared to let him defend Randolph alone.

But the reality is that Perkins' explosiveness has declined significantly after suffering an injury, otherwise the Celtics would not have sent him away. After all, in the East, whether it is James or Howard, Perkins plays a huge role.

Durant did not continue to play one-on-one when he reached the frontcourt.

Nothing is difficult in the world as long as you are willing to give up?
The answer is obviously no, or judging from the game between the Heat and the Grizzlies, that statement is more applicable to James.

Although Durant did not stand up for a one-on-one play, he started to play off-ball pick-and-roll with Ibaka.

Allen is excellent at off-ball screens, but Durant just threw the ball after receiving it, completely ignoring Allen's style of play.

This is different from the regular season. Obviously, Allen made Durant look a little embarrassed in the past, but it also allowed him to evolve ahead of time.

Faced with this kind of ball, Allen had no time to cut the ball and could only jump up and try to interfere, but such interference was obviously not enough.

"Shh!"

With a crisp sound of the ball going into the net, Durant broke the scoring drought for the Thunder.

The charm of mid-range shooting was perfectly demonstrated at this moment.

The two teams fought back and forth at the beginning.

The Grizzlies advanced to the frontcourt, and Hansen found that the Thunder were still focusing on defending him.

Does Brooks really think highly of him, or does he look down on Randolph?

However, seeing how persistent the Thunder was, Han Sen felt relieved and started to contain them.

Randolph was in good form tonight, completely suppressing Perkins in the low post. The Grizzlies had a great chance if they continued playing this way. As a result, the game seemed to have entered a round-by-round system. Randolph scored in the paint, and Durant responded from the outside.

Although there were some subtle changes on both sides afterwards, such as Brooks letting Ibaka help defend, Randolph showed his ability to assist when playing against the Heat, passing the ball to Gasol Jr., who was able to quickly attack the basket and score.

For example, Allen began to use half-front defense on Durant to limit his receiving the ball, which is his specialty. Durant couldn't get the ball, and the Thunder had a scoring drought, but this scoring drought changed after Brooks replaced Harden.

In general, due to the strategic arrangements of the coaches on both sides, this game is basically a contest between inside offense and outside offense.

However, no matter how well Durant can score, his scoring efficiency from the outside is always lower than that from the inside.

So after the first quarter, the Grizzlies were leading.

However, after entering the substitute transition period, the Thunder caught up with the gap.

Jordan Crawford has the ability to score, but as a first-year rookie, his stability cannot be compared with Gay in the playoffs.

The impact of Gay's absence on the Grizzlies was also highlighted at this moment.

On the other hand, the second-year Thunder player Harden is much stronger in both talent and experience.

The Thunder caught up with the score in this period, and when the main players of both teams returned in the second quarter, the two sides were back to the same starting line.

When he came back on the court in the second quarter, Hansen thought Brooks would make some changes, but he didn't expect the Thunder to still guard him tightly.

Hansen was now certain that Brooks didn't look down on Randolph, but he thought too highly of him. He really treated him as Kobe when defending him!
Because of the persistence of the coaches on both sides, the score difference of the game increased alternately during the round-by-round system.

In the final moment of the quarter, with one minute left in the game, the Grizzlies led 104-102.

The Thunder had the ball, and Durant took up position in the high post and then made a classic stand-up single.

Tonight he scored 21 points with 10 of 33 shots. Although he had 4 turnovers, he showed his super giant strength in the face of the rotation battle between Allen and Battier.

This time Durant chose to play one-on-one with his back to the basket.

His back-to-the-basket play is different from Kobe's and of course James'. He won't give too much confrontation, but is more focused on creating better shooting space.

He did it, and Allen could only interfere with him to a limited extent.

However, at the moment he made his move, another figure suddenly flew over and interfered with his move.

It was Han Sen, the Han Sen who said he would back Allen!

"when!"

Durant's shot went wide of the basket due to interference, and Gasol Jr. protected the most crucial rebound.

With 30 seconds left in the game, the Grizzlies were still leading by 2 points and had possession of the ball.

Durant swore and Hollins called a timeout.

After the timeout, Hollins replaced Allen with Battier.

Randolph continued to position himself in the low post, but this time, the Thunder moved in to help defend.

Trailing by 2 points, they only had hope of winning if they could defend this round. In this situation, Brooks didn't dare to let Randolph shoot easily.

Randolph passed the ball back to Conley on the outside, and Conley immediately passed the ball to Hansen.

As soon as Hansen received the ball, Durant switched defense to him.

From Durant's resentful look, it can be seen that he took the initiative to switch defense.

He beat Hansen for the entire summer last summer, and he has absolute confidence.

Han Sen changed direction and passed him...

Durant's advantage is his height and long arms, not his footwork.

But Hansen was immediately assisted by Sefolosha. In the previous timeout, because it was a defensive round, Brooks replaced Harden with him.

Sefolosha's assist defense was timely and accurate, showing his full defensive strength.

However, when Han Sen saw him, he threw the ball to the strong side corner without hesitation.

Well, that was Battier's regular position, and he knew Battier would be there even without looking.

The pass was a little low, but fortunately it was not aimed at the feet. Battier bent down and successfully caught the ball.

Sefolosha tried to fight back, but Battier's shot was extremely decisive.

The fans at the scene were so nervous that their hearts rose to their throats.

It is better to let James go into the inside rather than let Battier go to the corner, which is what Battier is best at.

The arc of the basketball is very straight.

"Shh!"

Not surprisingly, Battier shot a three-pointer from the corner before Sefolosha returned to defense, and the ball went accurately into the pocket.

107:102.

Battier was unusually excited after scoring the goal. After Brooks called a timeout, he ran to Hansen and bumped his chest to celebrate.

The figure that rushed over with arms outstretched was undoubtedly "Batman".

With 10 seconds left in the game and the Thunder trailing by 5 points, the game was no longer in suspense.

In fact, this was true. After the timeout, Durant missed the three-pointer. Randolph grabbed the rebound and held it tightly, and the game ended.

The Grizzlies players began to celebrate wildly. Just as Hansen learned after Battier arrived, this was the first playoff victory in the history of the team won by Memphis.

Randolph, Hansen and Battier attended the post-match press conference together.

Although the position was a bit crowded due to the extra person, Randolph and Hansen did not complain at all. They even let Battier sit in the C position.

The first person to be asked a question was Randolph, who had the best performance tonight. He scored a game-high 34 points, plus 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.

"That's how we play, we defend every possession and then we keep attacking their paint on offense."

In addition to Randolph, Gasol Jr. also had an outstanding performance tonight with 20 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Grizzlies' twin towers blew up the Thunder's inside line tonight.

After asking Randolph, the reporter asked Hansen another question.

"You scored 33 points in your first playoff game for the Cavaliers, but tonight you only contributed 15 points for the Grizzlies. What do you have to say about that?" No need to look, this is a reporter from ESPN.

"You can skip this kind of question next time." Han Sen was not polite at all, but he answered it for the last time.
"My goal is to help the team win, not for the stats."

"Next reporter." Then he directly signaled to the ESPN reporter that he could sit down.

"Why did you choose to pass the ball in the final moments?" This was a reporter from NBC.

Han Sen glanced at the reporter and felt that the B on his badge was unnecessary.

But perhaps because of his experience as a knight, he suddenly thought of that old friend again.

That may be why this NC reporter asked such a question.

You can always learn something from great players, this is a famous saying in the NBA.

"Sean once told me that he came back to Memphis to help this team win a playoff game, and I believe him."

Han Sen was very serious when he said this. Battier, who was standing next to him, was originally smiling, but his nose subconsciously felt sore.

He didn't expect that Han Sen not only remembered what he said during their conversation, but also gave him the opportunity to realize it himself.

"Sean, we all know that you once played for the Grizzlies, but unfortunately failed to bring a playoff victory to the team. Now that you have done it yourself, what does it mean to you? Or how do you evaluate Han's last pass to you?" The reporter asked Battier.

Battier could no longer control his tears.

"Han just wants to win. Everything he does is to win. I know maybe some people say Han doesn't pass the ball enough, but everything he does is to win."

Yes, Hansen himself didn't realize that he might have the lowest assists per game among the outside cores of the 30 NBA teams.

Compared to him, Durant can be considered an organizational master.

From Hansen's perspective, this is because the Grizzlies' tactics revolve around the inside, and he knows that his passing ability is prone to errors and he chooses to finish more often, but in the eyes of outsiders, he just doesn't pass the ball much.

"Our opponent guarded him very hard tonight, and he put more energy into defense and containment, and he did his best."

Battier was still praising Hansen because he realized that with Hansen's ability, he could have continued to attack the basket in the end.

Even if he fails to score, Hansen's finishing ability will most likely cause a foul. As long as he gets to the free throw line, there is not much difference between leading by 4 points or 5 points at that time.

"And then you see, Han passed the ball to me, maybe he didn't pass the ball a lot, but he knew I was there, maybe he didn't see it, but he still passed it to me...

Battier suddenly laughed when he said this, and then emphasized his tone.
"Han passed it to me! And then I made that three-pointer."

Battier's next words caused laughter among reporters.

They could fully imagine Battier's unexpected feeling when he received the ball.

"It was wonderful for me to make that three-pointer, like a fairy tale, but I think now I may not be satisfied with just winning a playoff game for this team."

Battier's final words received a round of applause.

Hansen was also applauding because he knew Battier's heart belonged to Memphis again.

(End of this chapter)